1889 great britan crown is this a good buy?

yes of course those price guides aren't a %100 guarantee I just use them as a starting point they could be to high or low it depends on the market real time.

 

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The jubilee crown type in which you're interested is probably the least popular of the four types. Many have considered the tiny crown perched on her head to look ugly, ever since it was issued. It's certainly my least favorite.

 

I found a better one a nice australian crown much less expensive than this and in much better condition

 

If I recall correctly, the Jubilee head portrait was disliked by the public and collectors even when it was released. In my personal opinion, I find that it leaves much to be desired compared to Thomas Brock's "veiled head" portrait, which I believe is arguably the most regal of Victoria's depictions.

Edit: Out of curiosity, @potty dollar 1878, was it a 37 or 38?

 

Even Victoria herself is reputed to have disliked the Jubilee head design. Apparently it was originally planned to produce the bronze coinage with the same design but she vetoed it at the last moment and pressed to have the Jubilee head replaced as soon as possible on the silver.

 

I'm fairly new to this guide and have noticed the same thing quite often...too often to me, but haven't figured it out or inquired yet. Also had the same question as another post...about prices only in slabs or not...if so, NGC would assume.

 

NGC online prices are a general guide. There is not a prerequisite that the coin values listed are for professionally graded, slabbed examples. They could apply to either raw or slabbed coins, and are compiled from various sales realisation figures, from what I understand.

 

As a collector of World Coins, I have used Heritage Auctions sold listings for a primary reference. Also specific country sites such as Canadian Coin Price Guide and Values of UK Coins by Tony Clayton are good guides. IMO Krause/NGC listings are only an average guide, and have frequent inconsistencies.

 

I got my first Jubilee Head crown 30+ years ago and I have been a big fan since. As Donna mentioned, it is considered the ugly, and I agree, but over the years, I find they've grown on me.

Prices for crowns (and silver in general) have gone up a lot in the past 30 years, but $47 still seems a bit high to me for one in this condition (F or so? It does have a nice tone).

Mintages vs. scarcity has always puzzled me a bit on these. No surprise that 1889 is by far the most common date to collect - it had the highest mintage. But the next highest mintage is 1887 and these are very hard to find in circulated grades - people apparently hoarded them, or turned them into jewelry - finding one in F is really difficult. All the other dates had lower mintages; the 1888 is kind of tough - maybe because of the Jack the Ripper date. Also, 1892 is a "better" date. But 1890 and 1891 seem to be quite common.

Here's an 1889 I paid $24 in 2016 (eBay). That kind of a bargain used to turn up from time to time - with silver so high, probably not now: